Raipur-based Vedanta’s BALCO Medical Centre (BMC), an emerging leader in India’s oncology space, has achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first Indian co-researchers in a team to receive the prestigious Cancer Grand Challenges Award. This recognition, with a substantial $25 million grant for cancer research, underscores BMC’s position as a pioneering institution in India’s oncology landscape. The recipient team PROSPECT, comprising of clinicians, advocates, and scientists from BALCO Medical Centre and other esteemed institutions around the world, will be addressing the critical issue of early-onset cancers challenge.

Team PROSPECT is one of five global teams being funded this year by Cancer Grand Challenges, which was founded in 2020 by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute US, to invite diverse world-class research teams to come together, think differently and take on some of cancer’s toughest challenges. The teams will be funded by Cancer Research UK, the National Cancer Institute, the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK and Institute National Du Cancer through Cancer Grand Challenges with a total investment of $125 million to tackle some of the toughest challenges in cancer research.

Dr Bhawna Sirohi, Medical Director at Vedanta Medical Research Foundation (BALCO Medical Centre) and the lead principal investigator for PROSPECT-India study, says “The worrisome increase in colorectal cancers stresses the importance of early detection and lifestyle choices for prevention. There’s a dire need for cancer screening in high-risk areas to facilitate early diagnosis and prompt treatment, especially with the shifting demographics towards a younger population. This grant will speed up global cancer research, focusing on understanding the reasons behind the rise in early-onset colorectal cancer and strategies for prevention".

Image caption- Dr Bhawna Sirohi (Medical Director at Vedanta Medical Research Foundation (BALCO Medical Centre) and the lead principal investigator for PROSPECT-India study); Professor Andrew Chan (Co-team Lead, Daniel K. Podolsky Professor of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital); Dr Yin Cao (Co-team Lead, Associate Professor of Surgery & Medicine. Washington University in St. Louis)